Astyanax
Infant son of Hector and Andromache thrown from the walls of Troy by the Greeks to prevent a Trojan heir from surviving.
The Legend of Astyanax
They threw a baby off the walls of Troy — because they feared what he might become. After Troy fell, the Greeks debated what to do with Hector's infant son. Odysseus (or Neoptolemus) argued that no son of Hector could be allowed to grow up and seek revenge. The child was hurled from the battlements. Andromache could only watch. Euripides's Trojan Women stages Andromache's farewell to Astyanax as one of the most devastating scenes in all drama. His original name was Scamandrius; Hector's soldiers called him Astyanax (lord of the city). The name proved bitterly ironic — the lord of the city was murdered by the city's conquerors.
Parents
Hector, Andromache
Symbols
Explore Further
Neoptolemus
🗡 heroSon of Achilles
Neoptolemus was Achilles' fierce son, brought to Troy because a prophecy declared the city could not fall without him.
Phaedimus
🗡 heroTrojan War, Minor Warriors
Son of Priam who fought at Troy and died defending the city in its final hours.
Menoeceus
🗡 herosacrifice
Young Theban prince who killed himself to save Thebes after Tiresias prophesied the city needed royal blood.
Promachus
🗡 heroEpigoni, Vengeance, Thebes
Son of Parthenopaeus and member of the Epigoni who succeeded in sacking Thebes where his father had failed.
Andromache
🗡 heroWife of Hector
Andromache was Hector's devoted wife whose farewell with him on Troy's walls is the most tender scene in the Iliad — and whose fate after Troy's fall was the cruelest.
Alcathous
🗡 heroCity Foundation, Athletic Victory
Son of Pelops who rebuilt the walls of Megara and won the throne by slaying the Cithaeronian lion.
Menoeceus
🗡 herosacrifice, prophecy
A young Theban nobleman who sacrificed himself by leaping from the city walls to fulfil Tiresias's prophecy that only royal blood could save Thebes from the Seven.
Parthenopaeus
🗡 heroSeven Against Thebes, Youth, Arcadia
Young Arcadian hero, one of the Seven Against Thebes, who died at the city walls before seeing his homeland again.
Hector
🗡 heroChampion of Troy
Hector was Troy's greatest warrior, who fought not for glory but to defend his city, wife, and son.
Laius
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Thebes whose attempt to cheat fate led directly to the Oedipus tragedy
Amyntor
🗡 heroKingship, paternal conflict
King of Eleon or Ormenion whose curse upon his son Phoenix led to one of the Iliad's most poignant speeches
Sarpédon
🗡 heroSon of Zeus who died at Troy
Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and the greatest Lycian warrior at Troy — his death forced Zeus to confront the limits of even divine power.